Abstract

This thesis seeks to add to our understanding of Venetiansociety in the latter half of the fifteenth century byoffering a new approach: an in-depth study of one ofVenice's six districts (sestier1). My researchesconcentrated on the sestiere of San Polo, which embracedthe Rialto. My intention in narrowing the focus of analysisis to reveal a cross-section of society. Fundamental to thisinquiry is to discover the identity of this sestiere; toexplore its little known social profile, trades andsolidarities and to sharpen the images of its urban fabric.At the same time, it is an investigation into thesignificance and role of neighbourhood and local loyaltiesin Renaissance Venice. The opening chapter discusses thechanging topography of San Polo and its definition over thefollowing three centuries. Boundaries were blurred; parishdisputes document how and why they were changed. Chapter Twointroduces the three social orders recognised bycontemporaries (patriciate, citizenry and artisans), tracingthe sharpening of hierarchy, the growing cohesion of thecittadini originarii and the emergence of poorerneighbourhoods towards the city's margins. Chapter Threeinvestigates noble and cittadini families in San Polo,through a number of detailed case studies. A complex andvaried picture emerged, in which family structures andresidential patterns amongst the nobility did not conform torigid models. Chapter Four attempts to flesh out acollective portrait of the "little people", beginning withRialto. Chapters Five and Six discuss property; initiallythrough a massive survey after the Rialto fire (1514);Quattrocento sources are then used to examine property atRialto, domestic housing, building activity and renting. Thefinal chapter deals with neighbourhood, concluding that thesestiere was not an effective social unit and that localloyalties formed part of complex and changing webs ofallegiance.